The closer the holidays get, the higher the likelihood that there will be intoxicated drivers on the roads.
And now the Lathrop Police now has the funding necessary to try and do something about it.
This week the agency announced that they are receiving a $60,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety – made available by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – that will be used to help address traffic concerns and issues in the community over the coming year.
Designed to help aid agencies in cutting down on the number of automotive injuries or deaths, the program is often used by law enforcement agencies to cover the cost of overtime for sobriety checkpoints, DUI saturation patrols, and other additional efforts to try and curtail bad behavior while behind the wheel.
“This funding will strengthen our commitment to public safety in our community,” Interim Chief of Police Stephen Sealy said of the grant. “We will be able to increase our efforts in making our roads safer for everyone and focus on critical areas such as distracted driving, impaired driving, and speeding.”
Through now and September of 2024 the agency plans to use the funding to:
*Conduct DUI checkpoints during the holidays and saturation patrols to identify and remove those operating vehicles while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol from the roadways.
*High visibility distracted driving campaigns targeting drivers in violation of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
*Targeted enforcement operations prioritizing the highest risk driving behaviors.
*Focus on the top vehicle code violations that cause crashes including speeding, red light and stop sign running, failure to yield, and unsafe or improper lane changes.
*Community presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, impaired driving, speeding, and bicycle and pedestrian safety.
*Officer training or recertification in things like the Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE), and certification to be designed a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
According to public data published by Scram Systems – one of the companies that manufacturers a portable, wearable, alcohol-monitoring application – the number of people who drink to the point of intoxication begins to increase around Thanksgiving and culminates with New Year’s Eve.
The data released by the company claims that DUI incidents increase by over 31 percent during Thanksgiving, 48 percent over Christmas, and a whopping 106 percent spike for New Year’s Eve – the biggest drinking holiday of the year.
To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
